


Love is a force of nature

by Musealot



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Attraction, Bellarke, Didnt tag clexa due to obvious reasons, F/F, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Slow Burn Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Soulmates, both Clarke and Bellamy are sarcastic little shits
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-03
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-04-24 14:47:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4923712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musealot/pseuds/Musealot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke has been through a lot including the death of her father. Now at college, she's a dedicated student and has been with Lexa, who she met at college, for almost a year. It is on an ordinary night, at an ordinary place that she meets Bellamy, an encounter that couldn't be further from ordinary. This is their journey as they struggle to comprehend and accept a force that keeps drawing them together.<br/>-Title insp: Keith(movie)-</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sparks fly

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever Bellarke fic. So please be gentle. None of the chapters are planned. I just type them out spontaneously, though I do have an idea about the overall story I'm willing to tell. And please accept my apologies in advance for this not being beta'd, and English is not my first language. Enjoy!

Clarke had a rough last few years in high school. Following her dad's death, she could not wait to leave home and find greener pastures. Not only did she have to deal with the pain of losing her father to whom she was very close to, but also the guy she was dating, Finn, turned out to be a jerk. Though he was head over heels in love with her, he had lied to her about his longtime girlfriend Raven with whom he was still in a long distance relationship. It was all a mess, the only good thing that came out of it was, she got to know Raven through mails, first by trying to get through the mess Finn had made by talking to each other. But they eventually grew to be good friends. Finn became just a distant, bad memory for both of them. But little did Clarke know that this entire occurrence had already impacted her thought pattern. She found herself turning down several guys who asked her out after that. She made a promise to herself to never get involved in something that she couldn’t see as worthy of her time or emotions.

Months passed and the time came for her to finally start a new chapter in life at medical college in DC. It wasn’t all that she hoped it would be at first, but she slowly adapted to the changes. First semester seemed to be stressing her out so much due to the capacity of work that it brought. It is during one of these days that she ran into Lexa at one of the events hosted for freshmen at the university. Clarke always had a knack for participating in games. The completive side of her reached its peak during such times. It is during a beer pong game that she managed to beat Lexa, who was not pleased at all since she was one year Clarke’s senior.

“Way to get off on the wrong foot” Lexa said to her, shooting a cold look as she walked away.

That is when Jasper came to stand by Clarke and said “yeah..don’t worry she’s like that with everyone”

It was the beginning of a wonderful friendship between Clarke and Jasper who was also a freshman, pursuing an engineering degree.

But the more Clarke and Lexa ran into each other the less they hated each other. It was their team work that once saved the day at a party which got out of control and almost got everyone arrested. They started talking to each other more and hanging out after that. However, things utterly changed when one day Lexa confessed that she had feelings for Clarke.

Though at first Clarke was confused, she eventually decided to give it a chance. She never liked labelling herself anyways and was always so open minded. They kept their relationship a secret. But rumors had a way of getting about.

As for intimacy, it was good. Different. But good. She did however find herself missing something at times. But one thing she knew was that Lexa would never break her trust. And that made her feel so safe. As days went on Clarke got to meet most of Lexa’s friends and the cousin she’s closest to, named Miller. He was Clarke’s favorite. He was so effortlessly charming. Though he wasn’t much of a talker, he seemed to be at ease with Clarke whenever the bunch of them hung out and he knew that Clarke and Lexa were together.

Following the end of their 3rd semester exams Clarke and Lexa decided to meet up with Miller and some of his friends to celebrate and de-stress by going out for a drink or two at The Ark, their favorite hangout spot.

Clarke made her way to The Ark as soon as she finished her last paper. She was so relieved that she got to unwind for a few days after countless hours of cramming. She was nursing a beer when her phone buzzed. It was Lexa.

“ _Hey, shit’s going down here at our faculty. But I’ll be there asap. You guys start without me ok. xx_ ”

Clarke frowned at the screen assuming that it must be one of the commonly occurring clashes between students and the faculty members.

“yo..” said Miller as he made his way to where Clarke was seated followed by two other guys.  

“Hey you” Clarke lit up, partially getting up to give him a bro hug and noticed the other two guys eyeing them.

“where’s Lexa?” Miller inquired.

“Oh she’ll be late. Another one of _those_ ” She replied making a face.

“oooh one of _those_?” He responded smiling. “oh damn sorry, these two idiots are my buddies, this is Lincoln and this is Bellamy” he introduced.

Her eyes landed on Bellamy and lingered for a bit. “Hi I’m Clarke” she said smiling at him and then at Lincoln.

Her gaze shifted back to Bellamy noticing how he was carefully taking her in as he said “Hi yourself” with a smirk.

“sooo do we start without her or..” Miller asked her.

“yeah as always” Clarke replied rolling her eyes.

“OK we’ll start with beer then?” He inquired from his friends.

“Fine by me” Bellamy responded giving him a shove to push him forward as he walked towards the bar at the other corner of the room. Lincoln seemed to be so engrossed in his phone.

“Ugh she’s calling I gotta take this” Lincoln said standing up.

“trouble in paradise? Should I kick your ass already?” Bellamy asked laughing

“NO your sister is having a little meltdown. I got this.” He said leaving the table.

Clarke watched him leave but didn’t fail to notice Bellamy’s gaze landing on her.

She turned to him slowly. “Hmm let me guess he’s seeing your sister”  she asked smiling.

“yeah. He’s totally gonna get his ass kicked one of these days” He replied returning her smile.

“Come on, he’s your friend”

“NO I don’t mean by me.”

“By your sister?” her jaw dropped.

Bellamy nodded ..keeping his eyes focused on her pools of blue.

Their eye contact lasted a bit longer than it had to.

Clarke forced herself to look down at her beer. “My kinda girl” she said smiling. _Wait what?_ She thought.

“wait that came out all wrong.” She declared

“Haha don’t worry. I know you’re….um dating Miller’s cousin..” He replied uneasily.

She froze. “oh..” was all she could get out. But she studied him subtly and realized why she was getting so flustered talking to him. He was so attractive that it made her uncomfortable. But what made it even worse was that his gaze hardly left her.

Miller returned with drinks complaining about how clueless the new bartender was. Lincoln did too. The evening went on. Miller and Lincoln got more and more drunk while Clarke and Bellamy maintained a slower pace.  Miller and Lincoln started sharing some random stories and jokes that only the two of them(given their state) could understand. It is during then that Bellamy and Clarke got to talk more.

Both Miller and Lincoln were too drunk to notice how Bellamy and Clarke were constantly smiling as they maintained a conversation of their own.

They were so at ease with each other. They went from an introductory phase to arguing to mocking each other to teasing each other and then to exchanging words of advice, all within an hour.

Well, given their body language, a distant observer would have summed it up as _flirting_.

They were drawn to each other from the moment they laid their eyes on each other. For a split second Clarke had felt a sense of déjà vu. Talking to him, being near him, felt so natural to her.

It was only when Lexa called her that she realized how much time had passed. They had to call it a night.

Luckily Bellamy had had only 2 beers and was in a state to drive. Miller and Lincoln led the way towards the exit while Bellamy and Clarke followed them.

Bellamy opened his mouth to say something to her when Miller shouted form the car “Hurry the fuck up man. I need to go lie down”

“Drive safe” Clarke said, noticing how Bellamy shot one last glance her away before driving off.


	2. Shenanigans and then some

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate just has a funny way of getting its way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for leaving Kudos guys. Really appreciate it a lot.

Next day Clarke and Lexa had scheduled to have breakfast together. Lexa spent almost half an hour narrating the story of chaos at her faculty the previous night. Part of Clarke guiltily thought how entertaining it must have been.

“Anyways, enough about my drama. How did it go last night? Did u guys have too much fun without me?” Lexa inquired lazily.

“what do u mean?” Clarke replied defensively, a tinge of panic taking over her for a second as an image of her and Bellamy laughing at something together flashed across her mind.

Lexa’s eyes widened. “Jeez chill.. why so uptight today?” she asked smiling.

Clarke returned her smile. “Sorry, um it wasn’t much fun without you. Miller brought along two of his buddies. So we all just had a few drinks and called it a night”

“Oh speaking of Miller! We better start planning his surprise b’day bash.., it’s like what…4 days from now?” Lexa said frowning. She was the worst at remembering important dates.

“oh yeah! 5 days actually.., but won’t you be busy with studying for your finals from tomorrow?” Clarke inquired.

“Holy shit! This is his 21st freaking birthday! I _cannot_ afford to not throw this party for him” Lexa responded her face becoming the perfect reflection of a ‘sad’ emoji.

“Don’t worry hun, I’ll take care of it. I have no exams for at least two more weeks anyways.” Clarke offered placing a hand over Lexa’s.

“Ugh have I told you you’re the best!” Lexa’s face lit up.

“mehhh…only a couple of times. Not nearly enough” Clarke giggled, sticking out her tongue.

Since Lexa was even busier with studies than she said she would be, the total weight of organizing the party was on Clarke’s shoulders. At least it was until Lincoln offered to help her out.

“Catering?? But why??” Clarke exclaimed displeased.

“Their entire freakin family is gonna wanna be there Clarke! You know how tight they are don’t you?” Lincoln explained over the phone.

“yeah..but..damn. I actually didn’t have a clue it’d be _this_ big! “  Clarke admitted.

“Well like I said, me and O are taking care of the catering, all you have do is handle the decorations and invitations.”  He ensured and added “ I’ll get Bellamy to give you a hand”

“yeah ok.. thanks” was all she could manage.

\----------------------------------------------

For the rest of the day Clarke was busy with homework before she started preparing some pasta for dinner. She was about to stir the mixture when her phone started ringing. She picked it up off the counter top to see that it’s an unknown number.

“Hello?” she answered

“Hey, Clarke?” A familiar voice responded.

“yeah. Last time I checked.” She smiled, knowingly.

“you know you shouldn’t exactly disclose who you are, till the caller does so first?” the voice teased.

“Do you say that to every new number you call?”

“Just to the ones stupid enough to confirm who they are without knowing who’s calling”

She scoffed. “ Are you done?”

“Depends..” He mused.

“on..?”

“On….whether I can pick you up within the next hour for some shopping…for decorations?”

“Mmmm...make it two? …Girl’s gotta get ready you know..”   She said while removing the pasta mix from the cooker.

“We’re going shopping, not to see a ballet.”

“Shut up Bellamy! Pick me up at 6.”

“ugh orders. First O, now you. Story of my life. See you at 6.. _sharp_!”

“you bet.”

He giggled before hanging up.

\--------------------------------------------------

 

He was five minutes early., but thankfully it was 10 minutes after she was done getting ready.

“You’re one of those annoyingly punctual people aren’t you” Clarke asked has Bellamy drove his cab towards the first mall they were planning on visiting.

“I’m sorry but that’s the first time I heard someone use the words ‘annoying’ and ‘punctual’ in the same sentence” He smirked shooting a glance her way.

Clarke rolled her eyes.

“In fact, I actually pegged _you_ for an extremely punctual person” He added.

“I am...when I need to be..”  She said defensively but smiling.

Bellamy scoffed. “And when would that be..?”

“um..I don’t know.. For exams.” Clarke replied.

“Shocker.” Bellamy retorted.

“ok smart ass. We’re here” Clarke teased pointing out their destination as they approached it.

 Clarke dragged Bellamy through 3 different stores before finally showing any signs of satisfaction with the decorations found.

“Seriously?? Both these wall hangings were there in the second store we browsed!” Bellamy exclaimed more bothered about this kind of thing than he usually would have been.

“Duh yeah.. I was there! They had those gaudy glittery things on ‘em”  Clarke replied pretending to be offended while browsing through a selection of balloons.

Bellamy stared at her with a slightly dropped jaw which did not go unnoticed by Clarke.

“What? Here, take these.” She continued while handing her selections to him.

Before she could retrieve her hand Bellamy grabbed it by the wrist. “How’d you get this?” He inquired examining a scar on it, scrunching his eyebrows together.

Clarke chuckled uneasily. “A story for another time” she responded, feeling a shiver as Bellamy’s thumb brushed over the scar as his gaze diverted from it to her eyes. She retrieved her hand awkwardly. “I think we’re good to go”. She smiled.

Bellamy nodded. Putting his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

As they were headed to the exit once having purchased the decorations, Bellamy turned around to walk backwards facing Clarke but in his own lane. “All this walking got me incredibly parched.”

Clarke shot him an amused stare and started giggling, a blush slowly coloring her cheeks.

Bellamy paused in his steps. “What?!” He replied equally amused but by Clarke’s reaction.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a guy use the word ‘Parched’ before.” She responded smiling back.

Bellamy rolled his eyes. “Well _now_ you have. Come on” He said heading the opposite way inside the mall.

“Wait. Where you going? We need to head back.” Clarke exclaimed following him.

“What’s the rush? The road will still be there when we get back. Let’s just have a snack” Bellamy replied turning around, to walk backwards again.

“Bellamy. I need to start cramming for my exams. The sooner we go, the better. We’re already late” Clarke pleaded, walking with him.

“Relax. And whose fault is it that we’re late anyway?”

Clarke shot him an angry glare.

Bellamy’s gorgeous smile graced his face. “It’ll take 15 minutes max. I promise.”

“Fine.” Clarke gave in, rolling her eyes while speeding past him.

Bellamy followed, partially glad that Clarke couldn’t see him smirking, being pleased with himself.  

They ordered two burgers and cokes, which they consumed while chatting about things from their talks of the other night at the bar.

 “Was Lexa mad that you stayed late without her? Bellamy inquired casually, but totally out of the blue.

Clarke chuckled uneasily. “Why would she be mad at me for hanging out with a bunch of friends?”

Bellamy shrugged and let a few seconds pass before responding “Well, it was the first time you met me and Lincoln, so we weren’t friends exactly.”

Clarke studied him. “So are you saying that we _are_ now?” She smiled.

Bellamy drifted his gaze back to her from his coke. “We could be.” He returned the smile. “I mean I’d really like that.”

“So would I” Clarke responded, finding it somewhat hard to break their eye contact, while a voice inside her kept screaming at her to do so. She guiltily acknowledged the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, and thus finished the last quarter of her coke in one go.

 -----------------------------------------

Bellamy had a location independent style of employment which allowed him to work from wherever he wanted whenever he wanted as long as he met the deadlines. He was a freelance software developer although secretly he was a major history nerd. Most of his closest friends found it amusing that he ended up choosing this career path. But he was quite pleased with it since it allowed him to be in more control of how his time was spent. He found more time to read than he had thought he would: something that made him feel blessed.  

It had been two days since his shopping escapade with Clarke, and still she managed to creep into his thoughts while he tried to read, thus he found himself going through the texts they sent each other that night..

“ _It was fun, we shall **not** do it again sometime_.”  He had sent.

“ _Oh please. You enjoyed every minute of it_ ”  she had responded.

“ _My legs beg to differ._ ”

“ _oh I bet. All that walking backwards must have started to take its toll. Do you do that a lot?”_

“ _At the risk of pointing out the obvious, it takes an equal amount of strength to walk forward and backwards_ ” 

“ _Oh ya. It’s not like one of the two can potentially make you end up in a hospital_ ”

“ _Aw I like how you’re tryna find interesting ways to draw out our convo. It’s cute_.”  

“ _Ugh shut up Smartass. Books await. G’Night._ ”

“ _ah yeah. You don’t wanna keep those loyal servants waiting. Night princess_.”

His thumbs hovered over the text input box.., before he sighed heavily and placed the phone back on the table.

\- - - - - - - - - -

If only Bellamy could have known that minutes after him, Clarke also was going through their text conversation for a reason she just could not figure out. The party was set to take place the next night and she still hadn’t been able to decide what to wear.

She put her books and the phone aside and got up to yet again go through her closet. As she browsed, her stare landed on the scar on the underside of her wrist.. ,an occurrence which typically opened the floodgates for a stream of unpleasant memories, except this time it brought a flashback of Bellamy: how her gaze zeroed in on the freckles gracing the smooth, tan skin of his face, as his warm brown eyes examined her wrist in concern.. Though it may have only lasted a couple of seconds, she remembered wondering why he felt so familiar: the genuine look of concern in his eyes, followed by a nod of complete understanding of her denial to answer his question. She could not put her finger on why it felt so familiar to bicker with him about pointless things, only to have him respectfully choose to let her have her way. Though her mind was on a journey of its own, her eyes didn't fail to notice a glimpse of a stunning blue dress, which touched her fingertips as she kept browsing. She instantly snapped back into reality and picked out the dress.

\- - - - - - - -

Next night, Clarke and Lexa found themselves decorating Lexa’s apartment where the surprise party for Miller was going to be held. It was around 2pm, with 4 hours left till Miller was supposed to be brought their by Lincoln and Bellamy. Clarke was standing atop a stool, attempting to adjust one of the decorations they had hung above one window, while Lexa was blowing up balloons, basking in the comfort of the sofa. Suddenly Clarke’s phone placed on the coffee table merely a few feet away from Lexa started buzzing. She picked it up instinctively to hand over to Clarke and caught a glimpse of the User ID as she did so.

“um it’s someone called Bellamy.” She said more like a question than a statement, as Clarke took it from her.

“Thanks” Clarke whispered to her as she clicked ‘accept’.  Clarke knew that Lexa was very much aware of the fact that she had only a few close friends apart from Miller; Monty from her chemistry class; Raven, who she’d met during the whole debacle involving Finn; and Anya, her best friend from high school. Thus she knew that Lexa would be curious as to who this person whose User Id accompanied an image must be.

“Hey” She answered.

“Hey Clarke, uh how are you?” Bellamy inquired.

“Oh great, yeah everything’s great, we’re almost done here. It looks great.” She babbled.

“errm…oookay. That’s _great_.” Bellamy mocked.

“yeah. Yeah it is.” Clarke managed maintaining her pretentious smile, as Lexa studied her during her task. She was pretty good at multitasking.

There was a pause before Bellamy responded “Are you okay? – and please try to come up with a synonym for _great_ this time.”

Clarke risked stealing a glance at Lexa, who was thankfully focusing on tying a balloon she had blown up.

“Yes.” Clarke answered cleverly. “At what time will you guys be here exactly? Sorry I forget.”

“9 sharp.”

“What?!!?” she exclaimed. Bellamy giggled. “Ugh you idiot.” She snapped trying to hide the smile that was threatening to emerge.

“Sorry princess. Ok I’ll let you get back to all the fun you’re having.” Clarke still had no idea where that annoying nickname came from, but she didn’t totally dislike it either.

 Clarke noticed Lexa’s frown as she was about to respond. “Ok. Bye!” She said more dismissively than she intended to. But as soon as she tried to pocket it inside her jeans once they’d hung up, it buzzed displaying a text from Bellamy.

“ _btw I’ll NOT be wearing that funky t shirt you made me buy_ ” 

Clarke’s eyes narrowed. “ _Ha?_ _I told you to get it as a gift for Miller. Don’t get any ideas_!” she typed out in a rush.

“ _well it doesn’t look good on me. Not at all._ ”

“ _huh? You tried it on? Bellamy! Do NOT wear it!_ ” she wasn’t pleased, because she knew Miller would absolutely love the particular t shirt and was counting on him receiving it one way or another. Since she had already bought him a gift, she had insisted that Bellamy buy it.

“ _Aw you badly want me to show up shirtless. You could have said so._ ”

“ _You just love messing with me don’t you_.”

“.. _Or maybe I just really love the shirt_.”

Clarke scoffed rolling her eyes, as she typed “ _gotta go_ ”

“what’s so funny?” Lexa’s voice broke her bubble.

“oh pfft nothing.. He was just checking to see whether we needed any help” Clarke managed. But Lexa was still frowning.

“He’s a friend of Miller’s. The one who accompanied me to shop for decorations.” She added.

Lexa was still unimpressed. “Didn’t know you guys were so chummy” she said casually.

Clarke was slightly caught off-guard. “well he was really helpful that day. And you’ll get to meet him tonight, you’d definitely like him.”

“Can’t wait” Lexa muttered getting up and walking towards the kitchen. Clarke did not fail to notice the hint of sarcasm in her response.

It took a few seconds for Clarke to realize that she had disclosed more information than she would have liked to.  She had basically admitted to Lexa that she was _chummy_ with Bellamy, before she could even admit it to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am trying to keep a slow pace in terms of relationship development, but at times I can't help rushing it. Sorry ;-)


	3. Progression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as the title suggests, there is some progression in this chapter. Or maybe not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been over 6 months since my last update. The hiatus made me want to keep the story going. I already miss Bellarke so much :(  
> Anyways I will keep updating as often as I can. This is a relatively short chapter.

Back inside, Clarke managed to get some time alone with Miller. Their friendship was truly one of a kind. It was the kind of friendship where two people could sit in mutual silence, without feeling uncomfortable or awkward even for a second. Miller and Bellamy were friends since high school. They were best buddies since grade 8.

“Thanks a lot for this” Miller broke silence looking at Clarke.

She smiled and asked “Do you like the gift?” 

“Hell yes. “ He answered smiling. “like both of ‘em”

“Both?” Clarke asked in surprise.

“Ok did you really expect me to believe that Bellamy picked out that T-shirt ?” He asked.

She smiled .

“He really tried hard to convince me though.” He added.

She giggled. “Yeah he’s not that good a liar” .. she said thinking.

Miller studied her for a second before adding “Oh _that_ he’s not”

“He’s a good friend ha..” She asked.

Miller started nodding. “The best” . there was a pause. “in fact, that’s why I wanted to talk to you about something”.  
Clarke tensed. “oh what is it?” she asked.

“I know it’s not my place to butt in, but you both are my friends and I’ve known him for so damn long,, so I just hmm..” he started thinking., staring at his drink

Clarke tensed further. “Miller. What is it?, you’re kind of scaring me”

Miller finally diverted his gaze to her. “I think.. he’s into you”

Clarke froze. “What? NO way. It’s not like that. We barely know each other” She mumbled more like she was trying to convince herself.

“Clarke. He is. I’m only telling you this cause, I just.. don’t want him to end up getting hurt. You’re with Lexa, who happens to be my cousin. So I’m kinda trying to stop an impending disaster I guess.” He said.

Clarke started frowning. “Did he tell you this? And what disaster?”

“no NO he did not say anything. I know him too well to not notice when he’s…into someone.” He said, wishing he didn’t have to.

Clarke was just staring at him angrily.

“Clarke my point is, just don’t lead him on if you don’t feel the same way. Sorry. Let me rephrase that: _Since_ you don’t feel the same.” He finished.

“I was _not_ leading him on. Why would you even _think_ that? We are _just_ starting to be friends!” She said defensively. 

“Yes I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have implied that. Just..try to keep a distance? I feel like such a jerk butting in like this.” Miller said apologetically

Clarke started shaking her head. “Fine. I’ll distance myself from him. But I think this is probably a conversation you should have had with _him_ ” She said getting up.

“and I still think you’re reading too much into things. It’s a shame cause I – nevermind. Happy Birthday.” She said walking away.

She was aiming to walk to her room when she abruptly bumped into someone. His hands reached out and steadied her to ensure she won’t fall. She looked up instantly to find the warm gaze of Bellamy’s brown eyes. “Fancy running into you again” He said quietly. His voice was husky and did things to her that she felt guilty about.

She quickly recovered and moved back from him. “um..were you just leaving..?” she asked

“Hmm” he answered nodding.” Got an early start tomorrow” he added

 “oh ok.. Good night Bellamy.”  She said actively avoiding eye contact with him, which he did not fail to notice.

“Are you okay ..” he asked , an arm moving towards her instinctively as she was about to continue walking.

“yeah Yeah I’m fine. Just tired” She answered faking a smile and leaving.

He stood there watching her, before talking to Miller and leaving with Octavia.

 

Clarke had hopped into bed once she entered the room. She had dozed off with a book in hand.

Her phone suddenly buzzed waking her up. It was a text.

 **_Bellamy_ ** _:  you were right about the timing_

_Ha ? : **Clarke**_

**_Bellamy:_ ** _The stars_

She immediately got up and walked over to her window. There were stars dotting the sky.

_I’m always right : **Clarke**_

 **_Bellamy:_ ** _Don’t be so modest princess._

She hated how much she liked hearing that nickname from him now. She laid down back on her bed, staring at the phone. She realized that for some reason she was expecting him to ask her something, so that she had an excuse to actually reply again. A few minutes passed with no other text from him. Maybe she was right about Miller reading too much into things, she thought. Bellamy had obviously flirted with her a couple of times, but she knew that was nothing to be taken too seriously. She waited a few more minutes. Still nothing. “ughh fuck it” escaped her mouth.

_Princesses shouldn’t have to be modest : **Clarke** _

She waited for minutes what felt like hours. 

**_Bellamy_ ** _: Good point._

She smiled slightly… _That’s it?_ She wondered. Then the phone buzzed again.

 **_Bellamy:_ ** _Get some sleep now. ‘Night Clarke._

_Hmm. Good night Bellamy : **Clarke**_

**_Bellamy :_** _I’d like to grab coffee with you sometime_

He heart suddenly skipped a beat. Gosh. The boy was not subtle. A minute or two passed as she was pondering over her reply when the phone buzzed again.

_**Bellamy** : As friends of course.  _

It was as If he read her mind. _But why’d he add that only minutes after?_ She wondered.

_Yeah that wouldn’t be nice : **Clarke** _

 It took only a second for her to notice her typo.

 **** _*would!!! : **Clarke**_

She replied immediately

 **_Bellamy:_ ** _Lol. Whatever you say princess._

_I’ll text you the details._

_\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

A few days passed without them texting. She was partially glad because she figured that’s how you keep a distance from someone. When she checked her phone after that day’s last lecture, she saw a missed call from him. She made her way towards a bench and sat down before calling him back.

“ _Hello_ ” he answered

“Hey Bellamy. Just saw you called” she replied

_“yeah yeah. Um- actually near the Arcadia café near your campus, & thought maybe we could catch up” _

“Oh” she was beginning to answer  “ _If this is not a bad time_ ” He added

“ _Not at all.., I’ll mmm see you in 15_ ?” she said

 _“sure. See you then_ ”

 ----

When she made her way inside the café, he was at a corner table for two, reading a book.

“Hope I’m not disturbing.” She said getting his attention.

He got up smiling and leaned in to give her a small hug from the side. She hugged back.

“The Iliad”. She observed .

He smiled warmly. “Yeah got like a half more to go”. He said placing it back inside his backpack.

They talked casually about their studies and work while their order arrived. Then they started enjoying their coffees in mutual silence for a few minutes.

He was studying her over his cup of coffee while taking a sip. “you cut your hair”

“yeah.., just a bit. Needed a change.” She responded smiling coyly

He firmly held her gaze. “I like it”.

“Thanks” she said trying to hide her blush by fixing her hair instinctively.

His fingers were itching to touch her hair. He kept on sipping on his coffee instead, pleased with himself for making her blush.

As she was finishing her coffee,  a familiar figure near the café’s entrance caught her eye.

It was Bryan, a friend of Lexa’s who happened to be dating Miller.

Bellamy’s gaze followed Clarke’s. “ oh hey it’s Bryan”  he said

Clarke was taken aback for a second before realizing that of course Bellamy knows the guy Miller is dating. Then for her shock, he was trying to get Bryan’s attention.

“Bellamy don’t, he knows Lexa!” She exclaimed without thinking

His eyebrows scrunched together as he waited for her to explain further.

“you know..I  just…I just don’t want him to mention anything about.. this to her.” She managed.

“That you were grabbing a cup of coffee with a friend?” he asked more like even he didn’t believe that was true.

She just stared at him.

“I don’t understand why you’re so worried..” he said gently “..unless maybe this is more than what we say it is..”

“What do you mean” she asked knowing how fake she sounded.

Bellamy slowly placed his hands on the table leaning in. she had to force herself to not stare at his beautiful, large arms. Instead she looked at the counter to see that Bryan was preparing to leave with some take out.

“Look Clarke. I don’t wanna put you in an uncomfortable position. If us having coffee together makes you feel guilty or something, let’s not do it again.” He said.   

She knew she had to explain the reason behind all the fuss she just made.

“No Bellamy. Look I’m sorry. It’s just something that Miller told me the other day.” She said carefully

He was frowning, urging her to continue.

“it’s so ridiculous. I know I shouldn’t have even-“

“What did he say?” Bellamy interjected studying her closely.

There was a pause before Clarke answered  “that you like me”.. she watched his reaction, half expecting him to laugh.

For her annoyance he had a poker face on., oblivious to the fact that she was expecting him to say something.

“What do _you_ think? “ he asked carefully

“I think.. that he’s…he should maybe mind his own business” she answered

“hmm well I’ll tell him there’s nothing to worry about. We’re just hanging out as friends.” He replied

“Wait. No don’t tell him that we’re hanging out..still” Clarke said worried.

“Why not?” he shot back

“I told him, I’ll keep a distance between us” She answered looking down at her cup

“that’s a lie” he muttered

“I wasn’t lying at that moment. I just…couldn’t keep my word, that’s all.” She managed

“Did I make it hard for you to keep your word..?” he asked gently

She risked looking at him then. His eyes were soft and serious.

“Maybe..” she said holding his gaze

He smiled softly and uttered  “I’m sorry”

She watched him, her heart beat rising.  “No you’re not..”

His smile grew wider.

“I’ll try harder next time..” she said,

He scoffed. “Good luck with that.”

As if on cue, her phone started ringing. She took it out and checked.

It was Lexa. Of course.

“Guess we should be leaving” he said as if he saw who it was.

Clarke looked at him apologetically.

“you finish your coffee, I’ll head out” he said

She nodded noticing the ringing stop.

He got up with his stuff. 

“Miller is a lot of things., but he’s never wrong.” He said walking backwards.

Before she could react, he had turned around and walked out the door.

It took a moment before she could start processing what he had just admitted.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this chapter is kind of short. But I promise my future chapters will be longer. Thanks for reading.


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